


the water's deep but blood is thicker

by snowandfire



Series: moon anon stories [2]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Gen, Protective Siblings, Protective Sokka (Avatar), Self-Sacrifice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-07
Updated: 2020-09-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 06:01:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26348272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snowandfire/pseuds/snowandfire
Summary: [when a group of soldiers accosts aang, sokka and katara in the earth kingdom, and demand to know who the waterbender is, sokka easily steps up to sacrifice himself in place of his sister]or: sokka looks like his mom
Relationships: Katara & Sokka (Avatar)
Series: moon anon stories [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1982419
Comments: 8
Kudos: 180





	the water's deep but blood is thicker

**Author's Note:**

> this fic was sent to me (@itszukkatime) paragraph by paragraph by an anonymous author who has asked to be credited as '🌑'  
> they are the true author of this fic, not me, snowandfire
> 
> to 🌑 anon, thank you  
> also credit to @nothing-more-than-hot-leaf-juice for coming up with the title

They were only a couple kilometres from Omashu. Just minding their own business (mostly) in the outskirts of a tiny Earth kingdom village, when they were accosted. Sokka was pretty sure these were the Earth kingdom soldiers (although they were more like bullies armed to the teeth than soldiers) that they had gotten into a little tiff with a few weeks ago. 

“Which one of you is the waterbender?” one of them growled, narrowing his eyes. 

"It's me, I'm the waterbender," Sokka said, stepping forward to shield Katara and Aang from the soldiers. The one in the lead narrowed his eyes at the boy in front of him, face twisted in a snarl. "Really, boy? Or are you just saying that to protect one of your little friends?" Sokka swallowed, but stood his ground. Behind him, Katara and Aang exchanged a frightened look. What was Sokka doing?

"I'm telling the truth. I'm the waterbender in our group. If you want to arrest someone, you're going to have to take me." 

"Sokka, no, you can't--" Katara started, a hand on her brother's arm, but Sokka stopped her, taking her hand in his instead. 

"Katara, stop. I told Dad I would take care of you, and I'm not breaking that promise." 

"But Sokka--" 

"Katara." Sokka turned his head, eyes pleading. Katara bit her lip.

"Well, then, boy. If you are the waterbender, why don't you show us a thing or two?" 

Sokka's grip tightened on Katara's hand, but he held the soldier's gaze. "I'm not very good at it yet. I can't do very much." 

The solider grunted. "Seemed like you could bend just fine when five of my men got frostbite last time they met you kids."

Sokka shook his head. "That... that was an accident. I can't control it." 

"I _said_ , why don't you show us some bending, BOY!" The leader bellowed, and Sokka couldn't help but jump. 

"Alright, alright!" He relented. He looked quickly at Katara, and although he could see all the things she wanted to scream at him right now, he could also tell she would help him however she could. And right about now he could use a little magic water. 

"Can my friends go back to our camp first?" Sokka asked carefully. If he could get Aang and Katara safely behind the copse of trees nearby, the soldiers wouldn't be able to see that it was the two of them bending the water instead of him. The leader scowled at the boy and girl behind Sokka, but after a moment he relented. 

"Alright. Fine." He stuck a finger at them. "Just don't try any funny business, or you're all dead, you hear me?" 

Katara and Aang nodded quickly, turning and scrambling back towards the trees. 

"Okay, boy, show me what you've got." The soldier crossed his arms, and Sokka took a deep breath, trying to remember what he'd seen Katara and Aang practicing the other day. Something about push and pull? Sinking into a low stance, Sokka swallowed nervously and extended his arms toward the small stream.  _ Please work please work please please please... _

Pushing and pulling his arms and wrists like he'd seen Aang and Katara do over and over in the last few weeks, Sokka tried to make it look as authentic as possible. Thankfully, Katara and Aang were doing their part too. The water moved just enough that it actually looked like he was moving it himself, forming a little wave that he was wiggling back and forth with his arms. Despite the immense stress of the situation, Sokka smiled. 

"Where are you from, kid?" The soldier asked as Sokka let the water rest. Sokka's mind worked twice as fast as usual. There weren't supposed to be any waterbenders left in the South, that was the problem, right? What if... 

"The North, sir," he lied carefully. "Small village. You wouldn't know it."

"Hmm..." The leader frowned, studying the boy. "Not a crime, at least not yet, being from the North around here. Just make sure you don't mess with me or my men again, you hear? You better be thanking the spirits a bunch of Fire Nation soldiers didn't catch you here or you'd be dead." 

"Uh, yes, yes... sir," Sokka replied, nodding fervently. "Of course." 

"Go! I want you and your friends gone by sundown!" "Yes, sir!" Sokka called, already turning and running back toward the trees.

As soon as he made it back to camp, Katara (who had been sitting next to the fire pit with Aang and Momo) stood, rounding on him with tears and fury in her eyes. "I hate you!" She yelled, and Sokka balked. That certainly wasn't the reaction he had expected to get for saving all of their skins against a bunch of Earth Kingdom thugs. "Katara, wha--"

"How DARE you sacrifice yourself like that when you KNOW what happened to Mom?! They could have taken you, Sokka! THEY COULD HAVE KILLED YOU LIKE THEY KILLED OUR MOTHER!" Katara was crying in earnest now, but it didn't seem to quell her (though justified) anger. "You're all I have left, Sokka! And yet you act like you mean nothing, like we wouldn't care if you left or died! I need you, Sokka! We need you!"

Sokka chuckled weakly. "Come on, Katara. What do you need me for? I'm just the guy with the boomerang. Aang? He's the literal Avatar!" 

"I need you, Sokka," Aang said, rising to stand next to Katara, who'd backed down a bit. "I mean, without you and Katara, I would still be in that iceberg. AND you're the map guy! I can't even read a map!"

"Yeah, that is kinda true..." Sokka admitted. Aang smiled, and Katara let out a deep breath, wiping the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand. 

"I hate you for doing that, you stupid stupid  _ boy _ ," she said, almost knocking Sokka over as she hugged him tightly. "But I love you." She added quietly. 

"I love you too, Katara," Sokka replied, gripping her tightly and choosing to ignore the ‘stupid’ part.

* * *

"You looked like Mom," Katara said later, voice low, when it was just the two of them in the back of Appa's saddle as they flew North. 

"What?" 

"When you looked back at me and you said you were the waterbender, not me. You had that same look Mom did when she told me to run and get Dad." A tear rolled down Katara's cheek, and she touched her necklace, head down.

Sokka laid a hand on Katara's knee, and she looked up at him. "Hey, I'm always gonna protect you, you know that, right? You're my sister, Katara, and I love you. I can't promise I won't do something like that again, but..." he sighed. "But I will promise I'll let you fight your own battles, okay? You're a pretty talented waterbender, Katara." He grinned, and she smiled. 

"Yeah, okay, Mr. Smooth-Man." She teased, giving him a playful elbow. The tension gone, they settled into comfortable silence. 

But Sokka never forgot his promise. 

  
  



End file.
